PROVO, Utah — The way to overcome any doubt or concern connected with the Church — historical, doctrinal or social issue — is to draw closer to the Savior, Jesus Christ, declared President Dallin H. Oaks.
“Again and again, He has taught us that He is the way,” said President Oaks during a devotional address delivered at Brigham Young University on Tuesday, Feb. 10.
Those of diminishing faith and activity in the restored Church are a major source of concern to the leaders of Christ’s Church, he said. “We love you, young and old, men and women. So does the Lord!” President Oaks said. “God is relentless in His loving pursuit of each of you. Keep the commandments and be true to the covenants so many of you have made to guide you along the covenant path.”
Students, faculty and staff, as well as community representatives and leaders, crowded the 19,000-seat Marriott Center in Provo, Utah, for the late-morning devotional. Students lined up as early as 6:30 a.m. in a queue that stretched to the Provo Missionary Training Center. As the nearly 20,000 voices in the audience sang “We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet” to begin the meeting, the walls and seats of the Marriott Center hummed.
President Oaks’ remarks, which he said apply to “all who follow the words of a prophet,” were also streamed to BYU–Idaho, BYU–Hawaii and Ensign College campuses and broadcast on BYUtv.org and ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
The event was the first time the new Church President has spoken at a devotional since being set apart as the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Oct. 14, 2025.
He was accompanied by his wife, Sister Kristen M. Oaks, as well as Elder Clark G. Gilbert, a General Authority Seventy and Church commissioner of education, and his wife, Sister Christine Gilbert; and BYU President C. Shane Reese and his wife, Sister Wendy Reese.
In introducing his topic, President Oaks spoke briefly of feeling “the heaviness of responsibility” settle upon him with the prophetic mantle. “As your leader, I pray for what our Heavenly Father wants for each of us — and that is to be or become active members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, proceeding forward on the covenant path into the eternities. We need one another’s prayers,” President Oaks told listeners. “I feel the positive effect of your prayers. I am thankful, and I love you.”
To begin his message, President Oaks emphasized the caution given by his predecessor, the late President Russell M. Nelson, who said, “It will not be possible to survive spiritually without the directing, comforting and constant influence of the Holy Ghost” (“Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives,” April 2018 general conference).
To which President Oaks added, “One of the many reasons you will need the constant influence of the Holy Ghost is that you live in a season where the adversary has become so effective at disguising truth that if you do not have the Holy Ghost, you will be deceived. Many obstacles lie ahead. The distractions will be many.”
His desire, said President Oaks, is to help all Latter-day Saints overcome present or future doubts. He then shared four impressions he had of ways to draw closer to the Savior.
First, strengthen our faith in Him.
Second, increase our humility.
Third, seek help from others.
Fourth, be patient.
1. Strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ
Develop faith in God and in the mission of His Son, Jesus Christ, President Oaks encouraged.
“Strong faith requires more than strong desire,” President Oaks taught. “It means daily trying one step at a time with prayer and scripture study.”
Individuals can increase commitment to the principles in the first article of faith, which states: “We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.”
Those principles “anchor our faith in God and will keep us anchored to gospel truth and to our Savior’s example of service to our fellowmen,” said President Oaks.
2. Increase humility
Those who are humble can more clearly hear the Lord’s voice, President Oaks observed.
President Ezra Taft Benson taught that “humility responds to God’s will — to the fear of His judgments and to the needs of those around us” (“Beware of Pride,” Ensign, May 1989). President Oaks added, “Look to the needs of others, and humility follows.”
Quoting President Spencer W. Kimball, President Oaks shared that humility is: “teachableness,” never contentious; it is repentant, forgiving and makes no bid for popularity or notoriety.
“Humility is one of the powerful commandments we have been given to guide us in our mortal journeys. It prepares us for our appointed meeting with our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Take care not to become distracted,” he said. “Remember His parable of the 10 virgins. We want to be among the five humble who were admitted to the presence of the Lord.”
There are two methods for gaining needed knowledge, President Oaks noted — the scientific method and the spiritual method, which begins with faith in God and relies on scriptures, inspired teaching and personal revelation.
“There is no ultimate conflict between knowledge gained by these different methods because God, our omnipotent Eternal Father, knows all truth and beckons us to learn by both methods,” said President Oaks.
To those caught off-balance by evidence that seems to be contrary between the two methods, the late Elder Richard L. Evans of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught: “There may be some seeming discrepancies. Do not worry about them. Eternity is a long time. I have a great respect for learning, for academic endeavor and the university atmosphere. … I have a great respect for science and scientists and for the search for truth. But remember this: Science after all (even when it is true and final and factual), is simply man’s discovering of a few things that God already knows and controls in His ordering of the universe. … God has not told us all He knows. We believe in continuous revelation. Be patient. Keep humble and balanced in all things.”
President Oaks added, “Trusting in the Lord is a particular need for all who wrongly discount the commandments of God and the teachings of His prophets by measuring them against the latest findings and wisdom of man.”
3. Seek help from other well-informed believers
Associating with trusted people, local Church members and faithful friends can also draw individuals closer to the Savior, President Oaks continued.
“An abundance of speculation and false information in podcasts and on social media surrounds us. Some may protest or question the truth of Church doctrine, without knowing or even understanding the fullness of that doctrine.
“Do not be persuaded by false or inaccurate information. Discuss your concerns with faithful, well-informed friends, and always take those concerns to the Lord,” President Oaks advised.
Seek friends and associates who are striving to follow the Lord and with whom one can feel the Spirit, President Oaks told listeners.
“Protect yourself with weekly renewing your covenants by partaking of the sacrament, and consistent effort to live according to those sacred covenants. Those who have been endowed should include regular attendance at the temple. In sum, stay on the covenant path. These simple practices will protect and strengthen you,” he said.
4. Be patient
“We are all a work in progress. … We need to be patient with one another and, occasionally, even with ourselves,” said President Oaks.
Overcoming doubts or resolving conflicts between evolving scientific understanding and sometimes-incomplete teachings of religion can be a lengthy process. “Hold on to the first article of faith even if something else is uncertain. And while you wait, wait upon the Lord, which includes trusting in His timing as well as His promises,” President Oaks encouraged.
